I saw Richard Blanco at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami this past Friday. Richard Blanco describes himself as being made in Cuba, born in Spain and growing up in Cuban Miami. Blanco now lives in Bethel Maine with his partner. Blanco's American journey is fascinating yet also inspiring. His poems are a prism of how he sees life. Life as an immigrant living in Miami. Life as a gay man, and life as an American growing up in the late 20th century.
). He also read his inaugural poem.
Blanco described how he was picked to be the official poet for President Obama's address. Blanco stated that he did not apply for the position, but was chosen. He described how he read the address in Washington and then turned to his Cuban born mother with limited English skills and said " Well,
rising out of the sand like a cake decoration.
My brother and I should still be pretending
we don't know our parents, embarrassing us
as they roll the luggage cart past the front desk
loaded with our scruffy suitcases, two-dozen
loaves of Cuban bread, brown bags bulging
with enough mangos to last the entire week,
our espresso pot, the pressure cooker—and
a pork roast reeking garlic through the lobby.
All because we can't afford to eat out, not even
on vacation, only two hours from our home
in Miami, but far enough away to be thrilled
by whiter sands on the west coast of Florida,
where I should still be for the first time watching
the sun set instead of rise over the ocean.
There should be nothing here I don't remember . . .
My mother should still be in the kitchenette
of The Gulf Motel, her daisy sandals from Kmart
squeaking across the linoleum, still gorgeous
in her teal swimsuit and amber earrings
stirring a pot of arroz-con-pollo, adding sprinkles
of onion powder and dollops of tomato sauce.
My father should still be in a terrycloth jacket
smoking, clinking a glass of amber whiskey
in the sunset at the Gulf Motel, watching us
dive into the pool, two boys he'll never see
grow into men who will be proud of him.
There should be nothing here I don't remember . . .
My brother and I should still be playing Parcheesi,
my father should still be alive, slow dancing
with my mother on the sliding-glass balcony
of The Gulf Motel. No music, only the waves
keeping time, a song only their minds hear
ten-thousand nights back to their life in Cuba.
My mother's face should still be resting against
his bare chest like the moon resting on the sea,
the stars should still be turning around them.
There should be nothing here I don't remember . . .
My brother should still be thirteen, sneaking
rum in the bathroom, sculpting naked women
from sand. I should still be eight years old
dazzled by seashells and how many seconds
I hold my breath underwater—but I'm not.
I am thirty-eight, driving up Collier Boulevard,
looking for The Gulf Motel, for everything
that should still be, but isn't. I want to blame
the condos, their shadows for ruining the beach
and my past, I want to chase the snowbirds away
with their tacky mansions and yachts, I want
to turn the golf courses back into mangroves,
I want to find The Gulf Motel exactly as it was
and pretend for a moment, nothing lost is lost.
After listening to Richard Blanco, my buddy Jay, and I went to Little Havana to our favorite restaurant "Versailles Restaurant" for a little
and a light dinner! Always worth the trip "Versailles" is open late and is lively with many Cuban-Americans dining, drinking and enjoying late night pastries and coffee!
